Collin Morikawa, Minjee Lee earn wins in Asia | The Sunday Swing

The Sunday Swing
October 22nd, 2023 

Welcome back to another edition of the Sunday Swing presented by 2nd Swing Golf. This week went international as the PGA Tour competed at the Zozo Championship  in Japan, while the LPGA Tour played the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea. 

Zozo Championship: Tournament History

The Zozo Championship was established recently in 2019 making it one of the youngest events on Tour. Even in its short history, it has produced a lot of excitement. Starting at the inaugural event in 2019 where Tiger Woods won his 82nd career title to tie the all time record held by Sam Snead. Tiger also set the tournament aggregate scoring record that year, shooting 261 (-19). In 2021, Hideki Matsuyama won the Zozo in his home country of Japan in runaway fashion. Being that it’s the only PGA Tour sanctioned event in Japan, it may have been a once in a lifetime opportunity for Matsuyma to win a Tour event on Japanese soil.

The previous and only five champions of this event are as follows: 

2023: Collin Morikawa (-14) 
2022: Keegan Bradley (-15) 
2021: Hideki Matsuyama (-15) 
2020: Patrick Cantlay (-23) 
2019: Tiger Woods (-19) 

The Big Swing

This week the Big Swing belongs to 2-time major champion Collin Morikawa. This win was big for Morikawa, as it ended a winless drought dating back to The Open Championship in July of 2021. Morikawa had a few chances during last year's PGA Tour season, but was plagued by inconsistent play resulting in him being  unable to get a victory. 

Collin set out on Thursday with winning at the forefront of his mind and it showed right away. After shooting a bogey free 5-under on the front nine, Morikawa also played bogey free on the back and was able to card a 6-under 64 to take the first round lead. Some other notables in the field included Eric Cole, Min Woo Lee, Hideki Matsuyama, Rickie Fowler, and Xander Schauffele. Most of the big names failed to contend on the weekend, but they did play four rounds as this is a no cut event. 

On the weekend, Morikawa was battling with Eric Cole, Beau Hossler, and Justin Suh. Heading into Sunday the leaderboard was jam packed at the top and it was seemingly anyones tournament to win. As the final round began, it was clear Collin Morikawa had brought his A-game. With Hossler, Cole, and Suh all struggling to get anything going, Morikawa seized the opportunity to gain some separation from the field. He carded another bogey free front nine 30, and headed to the back with a sizable lead. Morikawa was able to stay bogey free on the back while piling on three more birdies to card a final round 63. In the end it was a 6-shot victory over Hossler and Cole who both shot even on Sunday. 

Winner’s Bag - Collin Morikawa

Collin Morikawa picked up his 7th PGA Tour win on Sunday in Japan. During his drought he made multiple equipment changes in the hopes of finding the winning combination. Morikawa is a Taylormade staffer, and he employed a Taylormade only lineup of clubs this week on his way to victory. 

At the top of the bag, Morikawa games the Taylormade SIM Driver at 8 degrees. It is worth noting that this driver is a couple of  generations old. He also has a Taylormade SIM Rocket 3-Wood at 14 degrees. The only current gen metal he plays is his 5-wood, which is the Stealth 2 at 18 degrees. Throughout his career, Collin Morikawa has been known as one of the best iron players in the game. It’s only fitting that he is playing one of the most unique sets on Tour. Morikawa plays a triple combo set that features a P770 4-iron, P7MC 5, 6-iron, and P7CM 7-PW. Collin plays two MG4 wedges including a 50 and 56 degree, and one MG4 TW lob wedge (60 degrees). On the greens, Morikawa rolls the Taylormade TP Soto. He ties it all together with the TP5X golf ball. 

In the World of Women’s Golf

This week the LPGA Tour was in South Korea for the BMW Ladies Championship. It was a stacked field for the ladies as well with players like Minjee Lee, Nelly Korda, Lydia Ko, Brooke Henderson, and Allisen Corpuz all competing. To open the week, Minjee Lee came out firing. She would shoot an opening round 64 that included 8 birdies and an eagle. She found herself trailing at the end of the day thanks to Alison Lee’s round of 63. On the weekend it turned into a battle between the pair of Lee’s, along with former world No. 1 Lydia Ko. After Ko shot all four rounds in the 60’s (67, 69, 69, 69), she still found herself on the outside looking in as Minjee Lee and Alison Lee had each finished a couple shots better at 16-under. After Alison Lee made birdie on 3 of the last 4 holes, she found herself in a playoff with Minjee Lee. Both players were positioned nicely off the tee on the first playoff hole. After Alison Lee hit her approach to about 20 feet, Minjee knew the door was open. She proceeded to hit her 2nd shot to about 6 feet which would ultimately be the winning putt. Minjee Lee now has two wins on the season and has picked up her 10th career title.